The many faces of Joannah Marie Gonzales
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path", says the stunning Ilongga beauty who just turned 20 last June 21.
Joannah Marie Gonzales is a walking epitome of beauty and brains, a summation of what a young Ilongga is -- simple yet elegant, confident, talented, focused, and most of all God-fearing. Undeniably, Joannah has what it takes to breathe life into her dreams. She was crowned as the Carabao-Carroza Festival Queen of Pavia in 2003. On the same year, she was judged as a Miss Western Visayas Tourism 2nd runner-up. It was in 2005 though that this young lady brought home the Miss Teen Philippines National Level 3rd runner-up title from Manila. Prior to her biggest break, Joannah was chosen as Iloilo Festival Queen in the same year. Recently, she was proclaimed as Miss Avon Regional Winner.
The 4th year B.S Accountancy student at the University of the Philippines Visayas was a consistent honor student during her elementary years at Central Philippine University. Claiming to be an average student, Joannah experienced a drop in her self-esteem when she enrolled at the Iloilo National High School Special Science Class. Eventually, she regained her confidence after joining a series of pageants. She admits that painting and fashion are among her interest. A bona fide member of Assemblies of God, Joannah spends most of her time at home reading inspirational books and in school dealing with numbers.
"I'm not the pretentious type. I'd rather be called a snob rather than plastic. There are things about me that people don't know like I love art, sleeping, dogs and dancing... and I eat a lot!", says Joannah.
The eldest of two daughters of a sea mariner Capt. Joemarie Gonzales and entrepreneur Ma. Teresa Luceni-Gonzales is the latest addition to the growing ABS CBN-Iloilo family as a segment host of early morning show "Sikat Ka Iloilo".
A loving daughter and sister
"I really grew up with my mom that's why people would say I'm "ingat." In almost anything that I do my mom is with me. I spend most of my time with her. I'm not really the obedient type. I always do my best to live up to their expectations," confesses Joannah. She states that every time that her dad is at home, they make it a point that they spend quality time together.
According to her, her parents were both happy and proud that she reached this far. They would often remind her to keep her feet on the ground despite the achievements that she amassed. Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales are very supportive of their daughter's endeavor but they never lack to tap her whenever she deviates from what is ought-to-be.
"My sister and I are good with each other though we're quite opposite. She's more into music, more outgoing. We're close especially now that she seldom comes home (her sister is in UPV-Miagao)," she claimed. Three years older than her younger sister, Joannah often finds herself giving her younger sister advices on how to deal with things and guides her into her growing-up years.
A beauty queen
Although Joannah has gone through a lot of pageants, she considers winning the Iloilo Festival Queen title as her gateway to her Miss Teen Philippines fame. The organizers of the said pageant together with her make-up artists encouraged her to join the Miss Teen Philippines in Iloilo. After sweeping the judges off their feet on the Regional Finals, Joannah found herself in the arena of 40 beautiful young ladies. She was the only non-NCR finalist to be included in the top 5.
"It was difficult. The moment I arrived in Manila, I realized huge was the pageant. It was really intimidating at first. All of them [candidates] were from rich families, all pretty, some of them were models. I had hard time adjusting to the situation. I even told my mom not to expect anything. Right there and then, I wanted to go home," shares Joannah.
Her 5-feet-4-inches height made her vulnerable among the sea of 5'11" celebrity-like candidates. Despite that, she managed to stand tall knowing that her life-long dream was about to come true.
For her, the Miss Teen Philippines experience has given her more than just a name rather lessons in life that she'll forever be reminded of. She cited that, on the process, it's inevitable to be deceived by the people who treats you well and that you'll know who your real friends are. "In a competition, never think that you are less compared to others because you're from the province. Never judge people with a single glance".
A segment host
"Again, I owe my newly-found job (being Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida's co-host in "Sikat Ka Iloilo") from the Iloilo Festival Queen competition. At first, I was auditioned for TV Patrol Iloilo sa Diyes. Then the ABS-CBN Iloilo management decided to give me a slot in "Sikat Ka Iloilo" instead," narrates Joannah.
She revealed that she's enjoying the job and she's on her quest to further improve her performance. Adjunct to that, she's developing her skills by scanning the pages of her Hiligaynon Bible to familiarize herself with the language. "I read more now than before. I even practice in front of a mirror".
As to hosting, she looks up to former PBB host Toni Gonzaga and game show queen Kris Aquino.
Joannah has more to say about Atty. Peñaflorida but briefly described him: "He's a great one. At first, I was intimidated. (TV Patrol Iloilo co-host) Nerissa (Pedreso) would always say that he's very generous when it comes to advices. He's always there."
A diligent student
"Working and studying at the same time is hard. It takes proper time management and self-discipline. I have less time to study but I don't want to make my work an excuse for my poor performance in school. I tend to study more now. I want to be appreciated because of my academic performance than to be told that I am beautiful," states the strong-willed lady. She dreams of becoming a Certified Public Accountant. Her utmost dream though is to be a model. She plans to pursue a career in fashion design after college and putting up her own boutique or probably a personality development school. Her future in hosting, according to her, is still unclear since she just celebrated her second month in "Sikat Ka Iloilo" last June 17.
"If you have a dream, as long as you're not stepping in someone else's toes, as long as you really want it and happy with it, then do it. Believe in yourself. At the same time, don't think that you alone can make it. God is always with you," advices Joannah, who admitted has learned a lot from last year's Miss Teen Philippines Jikkie Lee and Miss Universe 1st runner-up Miriam Quiambao.